"i Am" Declarations Of Jesus - Sermon Ii: "light Of The World" Series

GREAT “I AM” DECLARATIONS OF JESUS

Who was Jesus? You will recall that He himself asked that question of His closest followers. First, He asked them, “Who do folks say I am?” Then He asked them a pointed question, “Who do YOU say I am?”

As we look back upon that encounter with His disciples, we soon realize that, just as it was wise for them to answer that very important personal question, it is wise for us to do likewise. It’s one thing to say that we are followers of Christ; it is quite another to know who He is.

As you know, it was the Apostle Peter who seized upon the question and blurted out the answer that all Christians ought to be able to give, “You are the Christ, Son of the living God.”

In this series of devotional messages, our focus is not on the question of who Jesus was based on public opinion; nor do we focus on Peter’s declaration of who Jesus was. Rather, we shall focus on who Jesus himself said He was – and hopefully still is in the hearts and lives of each one of His followers.

GREAT "I AM" DECLARATIONS OF JESUS - SERMON II: “LIGHT OF THE WORLD ”

JOHN 8:12 . . .

What would we do without light? In the beginning God created the sun to give us light by day and the moon to give us light by night. So, light was considered by the Creator to be essential for our well-being.

We need light to see where we are going . . . read a book . . . drive a car . . . work or whatever. Light for most of us has become a luxury without which we could not go about daily life very well. Unlike folks who are born blind, the rest of us simply cannot function without light.

We’ve come a long way from the first attempts by man to lighten up his life – from torches fueled by fossils, to wicker lamps, to candle light, to Edison’s light bulb. Nowadays the demand for better and brighter light is all around us – spot lights, neon lights, fireworks that light up the night sky on the fourth of July. Each day we echo God’s command, “Let there be light.”

In the days when Jesus walked this earth, light was just as precious to folks then as it is now – of course not exactly on the same scale as we know it today. Nonetheless, anytime the people of his day got together for a Jewish festival there would inevitably be celebration highlighted by a display of light.

One of those special events was the annual Festival of Tabernacles - when folks came together to commemorate the dwelling of God’s people in tents during their journeys in the wilderness – and their focus was on God’s deliverance of His people from the darkness of those wilderness experiences into the brighter days which they enjoyed in the promised land.

On the evening of the first day of that Festival there was a ceremony called The Illumination of the Temple. It took place in one of the courtyards within the temple complex. The Court was surrounded with galleries sort of like “bleachers” that were erected to accommodate the spectators.

In the center of the court, four great candelabra were prepared; and when the darkness came, the four-great candelabra were lit and, according to a historian of that day, the gigantic candelabra sent such a blaze of light throughout Jerusalem that the entire city surrounding the temple was lit up.

You know, in our day, we may get together for a thirty-minute show of fireworks at night on a holiday, but the festival of lights in Jesus’ day lasted throughout the night. All night long the religious leaders of Judaism danced before the Lord and sang psalms of joy and praise to God while the people watched from the galleries and clapped their hands in rhythm with the tambourines.

Against that backdrop of tradition, Jesus spoke to His listeners using an analogy of light that they were familiar with and could understand.

He said, in effect, “You have seen the blaze of the Temple illumination piercing the darkness of the night. I am the Light of the World, and, for the person who follows me there will be light, not only for one exciting night, but for the entire journey of life. The light in the Temple is a brilliant light, but in the end, it flickers and dies. I am to you the Light which lasts for ever and forever.”

Jesus went on to say, “Anyone who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Thus, He came as the Light that would pierce the darkness of night.